Master manipulators, influence brokers and scions of hidden power - the Lasombra as their moniker implies, ply the Jyhad as a vicious game from thc comfortable obscurity of darkness and misdirection. Raised from the Spanish and Italian upper class, the Lasombra exercised their influence over the Church and nobility of the Dark Ages, turning mortal rulers to their whims and bending entire societies to their service. This practice continues unabated as the Lasombra bow to no other Clan, instead leading the Sabbat with keen, cultured sensibilities and ruthless efficiency.

Clan Disadvantage: Lasombra do not appear on any reflective surface, including mirrors, water or windows, nor do they appear on black and white film. They also take an additional level of damage from exposure to sunlight.

CAMERON BENNET

Player: Matt

Appearance: Cameron Bennet was a brooding, handsome young man who appeared to be Embraced in his twenties. A charming, if somewhat shy Cainite, Bennet's demeanor could vary greatly over the course of the night, as a cold but monstrous persona lurked behind his otherwise friendly demeanor.

Nature: Penitent / Monster

Demeanor: Paladin

In Play: 2003 - 2007

Background: Cameron Bennet was an attractive young student who had the misfortune to find himself a victim the Sabbat. Never intended for the Embrace, the youth was assaulted and left for dead amidst a pile of corpses - fodder for some manner of feast or ritual. By happenstance, he somehow regained consciousness and managed to pull himself from the charnel pit, whereupon one of the watching Sabbat rewarded him for his tenacity with the gift of undeath. In a haze, he ran from the scene of the slaughter, and half remembering a date he had with his fiancé, Nicole, he meandered to her home.

Meeting his beloved at her doorway, the newly made Cainite tried his best to explain what had happened, but in the grip of his first hunger, he drew her to him and exsanguinated her. Shocked at what he had done, Cameron was soon after confronted by a man in black, presumably his Sire, who explained his condition and gave him the opportunity to pass Embrace to the dead woman. Ultimately he rejected this offer, although he was long after haunted by his choice. The emotional tumult engendered by his creation would eventually cause a schism in his personality, leading the otherwise humane man to descend unknowingly into fits of depravity and violence.

As a PC: Despite his nominal affiliation with the Sabbat, Cameron's primary persona frequently found itself at odds with the monstrous acts typical of the Sect. While his participation in the ritae bound him inextricably to the Sword of Caine, the troubled young Lasombra would often seek the companionship of Cainites more in touch with their own humanity. He would eventually become fast friends with the nominally independent Tremere, Lucas Brighton, who would on occasion introduce him to members of the Camarilla proper. Bennet would also come to join Brighton and his paramour, Maria del Torro, in their vigilante activities, and would in this way escape some portion of his grief as he committed himself to the defense of the helpless.

Eventually, Cameron's brushs with the Camarilla would lead him to encounter the Toreador cabaret actress Natalia Hemming - a slight woman who in his mind ressembled Nicole exactly. Growing obsessed with the beautiful singer, Bennet would eventually court her with Lucas' aid, and Natalie would requite his advances - with the two of them culminating their mutual lust in an ongoing exchange of blood. This ill-fated tryst, however, would eventually win Bennet the wrath of the Camarilla, as Hemming's sectmates would do their utmost to separate the smitten Toreador from her lover. Despite Cameron's increasing interest in potentially defecting from the Sabbat, Natalie would eventually wrest herself from the grip of the bloodbond - just long enough to flee the city and to seek passage to Europe.

Overcome with renewed sorrows, Cameron turned his anger at Tremere regent Adam Jones, whom he believed to have been responsible for Natalie's flight. He was secretly aided in this endeavor by Lucas' clanmate, Auberon Xerices, who sought to usurp his superior's office. After attempting to slay the warlock in a failed attack outside of Elysium, however, the vengeful Lasombra found himself under the Camarilla's Lex Talonis, and was hunted thereafter by the majority of House and Clan Tremere.

Despite the price upon his head, Bennet maintained contact with Xerices, who privately sought some means to safely convey Bennet into another Camarilla city as an antitribu. Nevertheless torn between loyalty to his packmates and a desire to walk amongst the "Kindred," Bennet would eventually throw in his lot with Ventrue antitribuLayla Reese - joining her in a suicidal mission to assassinate the infernalist Archbishop, Fransisco de Polonia. When Layla unexpectedly bested and diablerized her quarry, however, Cameron went on to meet with the Camarilla Lasombra Amelia Piccoli Rossi, who as per Auberon's request, conveyed him to Italy - having been purposefully kept in the dark about his assault on Jones.

As an NPC: Despite stern warnings against doing so, the brash young Lasombra would eventually try to covertly travel to Paris, having learned that Natalie ranked amongst the minor harpies of the city. Knowing that his past would likely bar him from attaining Hospitality, Cameron did his best to avoid notice, but would nevertheless be found feeding in a private domain by the city's Scourge. After killing numerous enforcers in pursuit him, Bennet eventually fell in battle, leaving Natalie heartbroken upon hearing news of his demise. The grieved Toreador would go on to seemingly commit suicide the next day - meeting the sunrise as she threw herself into a nearby canal.

Documents of Import:

Letter Regarding the Death of Cameron Bennett: A letter from Cassandra Asano to Prince Rogerson, detailing the supposed events leading to Cameron Bennett and Natalie Hemming's deaths. The STs eventually ruled that it was not certain that either character was definitively dead. [October 25, 2007]

DONATELLO "DONNY" CENCI

A.K.A.: Donnie Darko, The Boogey Man

Player: Joe

Appearance: Donny was a vivacious and seductive man of Italian descent, with a rakish personality and good looks to match.

Background: Donatello Cenci was born in southern Italy near the turn of the century, and as a boy, he would emigrate to New York alongside his family. Enjoying the life of a spoiled only child, young Donny would eventually come to excel at the art of theater, and would manage to carve out a living for himself as an actor throughout the 1930s and 40s - althouch he also made it his business during these decades to dabble in local politics.

After featuring in a particularly moving production of Othello, Donny would catch the attention of an enchanting woman who called herself "Emile," and the two would begin a relationship which would span several years before the smitten young man proposed. Rather than accepting his offer, however, the seductive blonde would go on to claim Donny for the Embrace - hoping to bring her childe into the ranks of the Lasombra antitribu. Donny, however, would find himself deeply shaken by the reality of undeath, and would come to reject his Sire's control, joining himself to the Sword of Caine and allowing for the seep of his own humanity as he came to oppose the machinations of his former lover.

As a PC: Donny would go on to have a relatively successful career in the Sabbat after he reentered New York Cainite society in the mid 2000s. Ascending to the position of Bishop for a time, the charismatic Lasombra would eventually be accused of disloyalty to the Sect by a Tzmisce of similar rank, and would be driven from the New York Sabbat's company as a result. Angry at this betrayal, Donny would briefly cast in his bid with the Camarilla under Ronny, although suspicions as to his former affiliation would quickly drive him from the public eye.

As an NPC: While his progeny would go on to strike one of the heaviest blows against the Ivory Tower since the end of the war, Donny would become something of a recluse, immersing himself in the study of Abyssal mysticism while he and his followers launched a lethal attack upon the Tzimisce who had ousted him. Such actions would eventually rouse the anger of Sabbat at large, and Cenci would meet his death in 2006 at the hands of Cardinal de Polonia- who would strip the young Lasombra's skin from his body, and bind it into a book that would reflect the dark secret's Donny had been privy to in his last years.

MARIA DEL TORRO

Player: Anya

Nature: Listener

Demeanor: Explorer

Sire:

In Play: 2003 - 2004

Appearance: Maria del Torro bore a a striking resemblance to Carrie Fisher, were Carrie Fisher plagued with having a mess of abyssal sigils worked into her bizarre and supernaturally obsidian skin, and if she radiated a palpable aura of damnation.

Background: Maria del Torro was born to a poor Hispanic family in Harlem, and would spend much of her childhood losing herself in reading. A consummate bookworm, the young girl would do her utmost to escape the doldrum of her day to day life through her love of literature, and she would grow into an exceptional student with the promise of numerous scholarships and a bright academic future.

One night, as she was reading at a local church, young Maria was assaulted by men of unknown origin, and would watch as her father was murdered before her as she was subsequently tied to the altar and Embraced in ritual mocking the sacrament of communion. The Sire of her Sire, Fransisco de Polonia, would thereafter secret her away in a small alcove - encouraging her in a grandfatherly manner to study the strange depths of the occult in her isolation. In time, the neonate Lasombra would be exposed to the mysteries of the abyss, and the darkness that lay therein would begin to stir the first flickering of insanity within her being.

As a PC: Maria would eventually be released from her cell, and would become an initiate of the Sabbat. Standing alongside Ductus Layla Reese, Maria would often struggle with the driven Ventrue antitribu's hatred of her grandsire, but would nevertheless become a fast friend and packmate to the determined woman. When the Sabbat began to welcome the company of Lucas Brighton into their midst, the inexperienced Lasombra would grow infatuated with the strange outsider, and would eventually become the rogue Tremere's lover - teaching him the secrets of the Abyss in the blindness of her affection as the two of them embarked together on numerous vigilante missions.

The mysteries of oblivion, however, would eventually take their toll on Maria. As she delved further and further into her studies, the neonate would come to read the book which had been bound in Donny Cenci's flayed skin, and from it would learn dark things which would rend her soul in two: creating a secondary persona within her known as "Georgia." In addition to this malevolent entity which lived within her, the woman would be plagued by the presence of a dark spectre known as Ansem - who together with her other self would strive to push the conflicted young Lasombra further and further from the light of humanity.

In time, the horrors which were consuming Maria became too much for Lucas to bear, and he broke of contact with her, not wanting to be taken over by the same black arts. As she grew more and more a disciple of the Abyss, her skin took on the hue of dull obsidian, and Ansem's ministrations grew more and more chaotic, afflicting all who kept company with the haunted woman.

Eventually the Tremere's newfound knowledge of the Abyss would lead to Maria's downfall, as word of her betrayal of the Clan's secrets slowly spread to De Polonia. Infuriated with his grandchilde's reckless behavior, the unfeeling Cardinal would order the neonate to return to his company - after which Maria would not again be seen in the lands of the living.

Trivia:

Before torturing and killing Maria, Polonia would order her to write a letter bidding goodbye to Layla - not because the cruel Cardinal wished any sort of closure between the two friends, but rather because he wished to use his grandchile's sentiments to hurt the Ventrue later.

Following her death, Maria would become a wraith, and would afterwards be soulforged into a small necklace which drove its wearers toward the darkness of Oblivion.

RONNY CENCI

Appearance: A handsome youth, Ronny Cenci nevertheless appeared shockingly inhumane for one Embraced so recently, and those who tarried near him would often find themselves feeling uneasy - knowing on some level that a predator stood before them.

Background: Before and after his Embrace, Ronny worked as an enforcer for local mafia, and took great pleasure in the art of killing and torture. It is not known precisely how his Sire approached him for the Embrace, but he had only been a Cainite for a few years at the time he entered into the Camarilla as Todd Walsh.

As a PC: Ronny's violent tendancies continued long after his Embrace, and when his Sire, Donny, sought refuge amongst the Camarilla after Sabbat politics drove him from his pack, Ronny had great difficulty adjusting to the mores of "Kindred" life. Taking the name Todd Walsh and posing as a Nosferatu, Ronny would spend several long months languishing in the Elysia of the Ivory Tower - finding perverse relief through his continued murder and rape of mortals, as he silently awaited an opportunity to betray his "new sect." In the Spring of 2005, he finally launched such an endeavor, and would lead a police-backed raid on the AOL/Time Warner building which would claims the lives of John Tisch, Sarah Capone, Tonya Mason, William Dobbs and Sofia Castañuelas de la Plata.

Such an act, however, would serve to rally the Camarilla to seek Ronny's destruction, and the bold Lasombra would be captured a few months later after being summoned by Caitiff William Lansing into a waiting ambush. His torpored form would long sit moldering in Prince Evans' vaults, before eventually being destroyed by Sheriff Sam McCoy during the reign of

MORRYN

Player: Danielle

Appearance: Morryn was a very human looking Cainite, in keeping with her unconventional adherance to the Via Humanitas. She always wore a white lily in her hair, as a means of remembering her past innocence.

Nature: Caregiver

Demeanor: Traditionalist

Sire: Juan del Acatto

In Play: 2007

Description:No bio submitted.

CARDINAL FRANCISCO DOMINGO DE POLONIA

Player: Canonical NPC

Appearance: Polonia was exceedingly tall for a Cainite of his years, standing six feet, with ramrod straight carriage and large hands that looked at home carrying either a sword and a firearm. He had a black, neatly trimmed beard that matched his short black hair and dark eyes. Perhaps for the sake of contrast, Polonia often dressed in white or grey, although he always was seen wearing a very old silver crucifix. The one flaw in Polonia's image was the severe sunburn which afflicted him at the time of his Embrace, which lingered to his last nights.

Description: Originally a Spanish explorer in South America, Polonia spent his early years both as a mortal and as a Cainite pushing to overtake a span of New Mexico, first for Spain and later for the Sabbat. Upon finally succeeding in his mission in 1680, when he allegedly drove several packs of local werewolves out of the region, Polonia began his slow but steady ascent both in rank and in generation - through merit in the former instance, and through judicious application to the Courts of Blood in the latter.

At his height, Polonia earned command over all of the Sabbat's operations on the East Coast. Unfortunately for him, his job was a trying one. The loss of New York overshadowed many of his previous successes in Atlanta, the northern Carolinas and Florida, and he was determined that it should be taken back.

Perhaps it was this determination that eventually led de Polonia to his fall. Following a series of disappearances from New York Sabbat under his Domain, and a reported investigation from the Inquistion, Polonia was eventually confronted and killed by the hand of Ductus Layla Reese and her packmates. After his demise and the ensuing investigation of his haven, it was soon found that suspicions of his alleged infernalism might well be proven true, and that the collective Sword of Caine owes it's thanks to Reese for her actions.

SAINT

Player: Jim

Appearance: Saint was an intense man, with a haunted hungry look behind his remaining eye. He kept a neat and meticulous demeaner, and always wore gloves when engaged in his "work."